


I Can't Fight This Feeling Any Longer

by deathbysandblk, maybesandsomedays



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: F/F, M/M, also this features lesbian! stevie, as will all my fics from now on probably, i wrote this because i wanted to see patrick punch sebastien (again), in many different ways, let patrick say fuck 2k19, this is part of a series i am making where he does just that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-20 12:27:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19376707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deathbysandblk/pseuds/deathbysandblk, https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybesandsomedays/pseuds/maybesandsomedays
Summary: Sebastien is back in town and Patrick decides to go have a chat with him. Meanwhile, David and Stevie are on a best friend fun adventure night and meet someone interesting!





	I Can't Fight This Feeling Any Longer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [davidpatricks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/davidpatricks/gifts).



> This fic has been in the works for quite some time and I'm finally finished with it! I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out overall. Title is from "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon. 
> 
> I have to thank my friends Julia (@davidpatricks on tumblr) and Cindy (@gaysteviebudd on tumblr) for all their help on this! I couldn't do anything without them.

Patrick had agreed to lock up the store tonight so David could run to the motel and quickly grab something before spending the night at Patrick’s. Ever since the two of them had gotten engaged, David was practically spending the night there every night, but obviously, the lack of closet space kept David from being able to keep all of his stuff at Patrick’s. 

 

As soon as he finished up, Patrick made sure the door was locked and then got into his car and headed over to the motel to wait outside for David as he had told him he would. He was just sitting in his car, listening to the radio, and maybe dozing off just a little, when he heard several loud raps on his car window. He jumped a bit and then looked over to see who it was. It was Stevie.

 

Patrick rolled down his window and asked,

 

“Stevie, what’s going on? You scared me half to death!”

 

He wanted to mess with her, maybe tease her some more for how furiously she had been tapping on his window when he got a good look at her face and quickly shut his mouth. Concerned at how freaked out and nervous she looked, he asked,

 

“Stevie? What’s wrong?”

 

“Is David with you?”

 

“No, he’s inside. He’s grabbing something. Why?”

 

“Umm, Sebastien is here.”

 

“Sebastien Raine?”

 

“Yeah. He just checked in.”

 

“W-why is he here?”

 

Patrick tried to keep his voice calm when asking that question, but it was really hard. Why was that scumbag here? What did he want?

 

“He didn’t say why he’s here.”

 

“What room is he staying in?”

 

“Room 4. Patrick-,”

 

“I need you to take David out of town. Get him far away from here.”

 

“Patrick, what are you going to do?”

 

“It doesn’t matter what I’m going to do, Stevie, just please. David can’t see him here. It’ll ruin him.”

 

“What exactly am I supposed to tell him?”

 

“Just tell him you want to go see the cherry blossoms.”

 

“Patrick, they aren’t open at this hour.”

 

“Then tell him you’re taking him on a best friend adventure or something. Just please, get him away from here.” 

 

“Okay. I’ll do it, but you have to tell me what you’re going to do to him. If it’s murder, I can’t condone that. I mean, I know the guy is literally the worst, but David wouldn’t last a day with you in prison.” 

 

“I’m not gonna murder him, Stevie! I just wanna have a chat.”

 

Stevie looked at him suspiciously and said, “Mhm. Yep. You are really convincing me that that’s all you want to do right now.”

 

The two were interrupted in their conversation by David coming up to the car. David looked at Stevie then looked at Patrick and said,

 

“Are you two discussing what’s on your group chat again without me?”

 

“No, Stevie was just asking me if she could sweep you away tonight,” said Patrick.

 

“Sweep me away? For what? I thought you and I were gonna head back to your place and-,”

 

“Umm I’d rather not hear the end of that sentence and I know it’s last minute, David, but ever since you two got engaged, I feel like I’ve hardly seen you and so will you please come with me?”

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“I was thinking we could hit Elm Valley and maybe do some shopping and then maybe stay at a hotel and get drunk and do karaoke. But this time, you can’t hog the karaoke machine. Some of the rest of us would also like a chance to sing.”

 

“You get the lead in one community theatre production and suddenly you think you’re the next Mariah Carey.”

 

“Well at least I don’t perform Christmas medleys with my mother in the dead of summer.” 

 

“Wow. Okay. I’m getting the feeling that maybe I shouldn’t go with you tonight if this is how it’s going to be.”

 

“Come on, David! You know I love you.”

 

“Do you though? Because sometimes it sure doesn’t seem like it.”

 

Patrick just sat there and laughed while these two bickered. As soon as it looked like they were getting ready to leave, Patrick got out of his car, wrapped his arms around David, and kissed him.

 

“Have a good time tonight.”

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come too? I feel bad because we had plans and-,”

 

“No, don’t feel bad. Go on ahead. You and Stevie deserve to have a fun night together.”

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you too, David, and I’ll see you in the morning!” 

 

Patrick watched and waved as the two of them got into Stevie’s car and drove away. Now it was time to get down to business. 

 

***

 

It was probably a stupid idea to do this. No, scratch that, there was no probably about it. It was definitely a stupid idea to do this, but Patrick didn’t care. Nobody hurt his David and got away with it. He didn’t even know why Sebastien had come back to Schitt’s Creek. It’s not the like the first time hadn’t been humiliating enough for him. 

 

Patrick had heard all about Sebastien’s trip to Schitt’s Creek and what had happened when he and David finally sat down to delve deep into their pasts. He didn’t know why, but of all the exs David had talked about-and there had been a lot-David’s stories of Sebastien Raine had made him the angriest. Maybe it was because of how deeply affected by Sebastien’s actions David had seemed. Maybe it was because he was the teeniest bit jealous that David had still fucked him when he was here before. Or maybe it was a combination of the two-as much as Patrick tried to tell himself he had no right to feel jealous, he couldn’t help but feel upset that David had had sex with Sebastien even though he had hurt him terribly in the past. 

 

Mostly, he just wanted to show Sebastien Raine that he was not welcome here. It wasn’t like the little bit of jealousy he felt was his driving force-he had shared his insecurities about that whole situation with David so it wasn’t like David didn’t know he felt that way- he just wanted Sebastien Raine to go away and never step foot back here. He never wanted David to feel the way Sebastien had made him feel before ever again.

 

It was with all these thoughts in mind that Patrick approached Room 4 and pounded on the door. 

 

***

 

Stevie pulled out a bag of Twizzlers and handed them to David. David looked at her, suspiciously, before taking the bag, tearing it open, grabbing one, and stuffing it into his mouth. He couldn’t help but feel that there was something Stevie wasn’t telling him.

 

“Okay so what are we really doing tonight?” he asked.

 

Stevie glanced over at him briefly, looking confused, and also maybe a little defensive, and then focused her attention back on the road saying,

 

“David, I told you what we are doing tonight. We’re going to do some shopping and drunken karaoke unless you’ve acquired a new hobby you haven’t told me about and would prefer to do?”

 

“Okay, but why are we doing that again though? Because the last time you brought me on a car ride to Elm Valley with these candies, you lured me under false pretenses and I just want to make sure you’re not going to like unknowingly make me a third wheel again.”

 

“David, do you know how paranoid you sound right now?”

 

“You say that and yet, this is the person you’ve chosen as your best friend. You should know how I am by now and there’s no return policy.”

 

Stevie rolled her eyes and said, 

 

“David, we actually are going to Elm Valley for shopping and karaoke because I wanted to spend time with you, although I’m starting to regret that because you’re a monster.”

 

David was pretty sure he didn’t believe her. He was also pretty sure she was hiding something from him. 

 

“Is this about what you and Patrick were whispering about before I came up to you two? The conversation shut down immediately when I arrived. What are you hiding from me, Stevie? If he’s planning on calling off the wedding, you can tell me, I can take it, we just will have to stop by the food court in the mall though.”

 

“He’s not calling off the wedding, David.”

 

“But he did say something to you about me. I know he did, Stevie. Oh god, how am I gonna enjoy the night now?”

 

“David! There’s nothing to worry about, okay? Patrick loves you, you know he does.”

 

“If it was nothing, you’d tell me what he said.”

 

“Did I ever tell you about the time when Patrick asked for my blessing? I know I’ve mentioned that it happened, but I don’t know if I ever gave you specifics.”

 

“Stevie, stop trying to distract me.”

 

“David, just listen to me. Anyway, he had had a really rough rehearsal. Like, he was not his usual self and I could tell something was off about him. Your mom was freaked, thinking he was coming down with something, but he insisted he was fine. Everyone cleared out and we were the last two in the room and he turned to look at me and I was about to ask him what was wrong when he told me he had something he wanted to ask me. I was confused, but I told him to go ahead.”

 

Stevie looked over at David to see that he was clearly interested in what she was saying and she could see it in his eyes that he was silently begging her to continue. 

 

“He said 'Stevie, I want to ask David to marry me, but I wanted to make sure it was okay with you first.' and I laughed because I thought he was joking, but then when I saw he was serious, I told him 'of course it's okay with me, but just out of curiosity, why did you ask me that? Shouldn't that be a question for Mr. or Mrs. Rose?' and he said 'you're David's best friend. Aside from me, you're the only one he's ever let in and so I thought if I could get your blessing, that would really seal this thing. He's the only one for me, Stevie. I've never felt this way before.' You should have seen the look on his face, David. There were tears in his eyes, but he had the biggest smile on his face I've ever seen. YOU caused that."

 

David became really quiet then and Stevie turned to look at him to see that he was presumably trying to hide the fact that he was on the verge of tears from her. Knowing that he would welcome the teasing, she asked him,

 

“Are you okay there, David?”

 

“Umm yes, I am great, I just think my contact shifted in my eye and it started to water.”

 

“Uh huh. Nothing to do with the fact that your fiance loves you. Just admit you’re a big ol’ softie, David.” 

 

“I will do absolutely no such thing. Oh look, we’ve arrived at the mall, Stevie!!!”

 

***

 

It had taken even less convincing than he had anticipated getting Sebastien to let him into his room. In fact, he hadn’t even had to try. He had just knocked furiously and Sebastien had opened the door and stepped aside letting him in. 

 

Patrick thought back to his earlier conversation with Stevie when she had told him not to murder Sebastien and Patrick couldn’t help but think that if he was going to murder Sebastien, he would have made his job a lot easier, just opening the door like that, but obviously, that’s not why he was here. 

 

Patrick entered the room and turned to face Sebastien, who was still standing in front of the door. 

 

“I don’t remember seeing you around here before,” Sebastien said to him and Patrick shook his thoughts away. He was here on a mission, a self-appointed mission, but a mission nevertheless. “But then again, I’ve only been to this dumb little town once before and it didn’t exactly leave an impression.”

 

“Oh, really? Then what brought you back?” Patrick asked, arms crossed in front of him. 

 

“I got an email from a beautiful busty blonde woman who practically begged me to do a feature on this place.”

 

Patrick wanted to roll his eyes. How could anyone stand this guy? He was such a pretentious asshole. 

 

“There’s not much of this town to feature anyway except for the Rose family. If I could get a story on them, that would be epic. And who knows? Maybe I could even get a quick fuck from David. Lord knows he’s desperate enough for it living in a place like this.” 

 

Patrick could not believe what he was hearing. Well, that was a lie, he could believe it because David had told him all about Sebastien, but still, hearing stories about how a person is, versus actually witnessing firsthand, are two very different experiences.

 

And if Sebastien thought, as he evidently did based on the snide sneer that had been on his face, that he could get away with such a statement, well, he had another thing coming.

 

Sebastien had no idea just how wrong his choice of saying such things to Patrick-of all people-was, but Patrick wanted to make sure he’d never forget. He could say what he wanted about the town, hell, Patrick had his own complaints; he could even say any number of degrading comments about himself and Patrick wouldn’t care, but to come here and besmirch the name of his fiancé? A man with a big heart, who had once opened himself up to Sebastien, only to be stomped all over? Patrick wasn’t having any of that.

 

What did it matter to Sebastien anyway? What was the point in being ruthless and spiteful. Patrick had already spent hours of his life thinking about all the things David had told him about his exes. How they used him, walked all over him, did countless horrible things to him just to get themselves something, but never once did he think he would have the opportunity to tell any of them off.

 

And here it was, right in front of him: an opportunity and he would be damned if he wasn’t going to take it.

 

“What the fuck did you just say?” Patrick asked as he got right in Sebastien’s face.

 

“Dude, what’s your deal? Why are you so angry?”

 

 “My deal, _dude_ ,” Patrick started with as much venom in his voice as he could muster. “is that you are insulting my fiancé right in front of my face.”

 

Sebastien had the decency to look a tad sheepish, but evidently not enough to prevent him from saying,

 

 “You’re David’s fiancé? You realize he has no money or anything of value, right?”

 

Patrick was fuming. He had never been this angry in his entire life. Physically, he was shaking, but luckily his voice didn’t waver as he said,

 

“Have you ever considered that maybe I’m not with David for trivial, shallow things like money or notoriety? No, of course not because people like you only think about themselves and what they can gain from a situation. David Rose is a way better man than you will ever be. He cares about the people he loves, he would do anything for them, and he has so much love to give. Love that sometimes I don’t even think I’m worthy of. And it’s because of people like you that he was hesitant to accept that someone loved him, that I love him! I know these words probably mean nothing to you because you’re cold, callous, and couldn’t care less, but you don’t get to treat people like that and walk away without consequences.”

 

Sebastien laughed, god even his laugh was pretentious, and listening to it made Patrick even more furious. He said, with a smirk plastered on his face, “This makes sense. David always did need someone around to talk him up and come to his rescue and now it would appear he has one of those for life, that’s assuming he’s not getting some on the side. He always was such a little slut.”

 

Patrick didn’t even have time to think through his actions. His instincts kicked in and before he knew it, he was punching Sebastien in the face. Sebastien raised a hand to his nose, in obvious discomfort, and Patrick took that opportunity to pin him up against the wall.

 

“Listen to me because I’m only going to say this once. Get the fuck out of my town and never come back here.”

 

 “I can’t just leave, I have obligations here.”

 

“And I’m obliged to tell you that everyone in this town loves David Rose and would willingly say the same thing to you if they knew what you did to him, what you’ve said about him. So go! And keep my fiancé’s name out of your fucking mouth, you shithead!”

 

Vision clouded with rage, hand stinging from throwing the punch, and body shaking with adrenaline, Patrick exited Sebastien’s room and got into his car. He could not believe he had punched Sebastien in the face! He wasn’t upset that he had done it, in fact, he would do it again in a heartbeat-the asshole deserved it-but he was in shock. 

 

Once his shaking had lessened a little, he called Stevie. 

 

“Hey, is David around?”

 

“He’s currently singing karaoke, let me take this outside, I can barely hear you!” Stevie yelled. “Okay, I’m back. What’s up?”

 

“I..punched Sebastien, Stevie.”

 

“You what? Patrick, I knew you weren’t just going there for a ‘chat’!”

 

“It wasn’t my intention to punch him at first, I swear! He just...well, he said some really gross things about David and I just lost it. But he’s gone now. Or at least I hope he is.”

 

“Ooh, he’d better watch it. If he’s still around, you’re just gonna punch him again.”

 

“Stevie, this isn’t funny!”

 

“Patrick, it’s definitely funny. Are you going to tell David?”

 

“I, uh, I’m not sure.”

 

“You two are getting married. It wouldn’t exactly be a good idea to keep such a massive secret from him, but what do I know?”

 

“You’re right. Just, let me do it, okay? Don’t mention this to David.”

 

“I won’t. He’s probably finishing up so I should probably go in there.”

 

“Okay, good night, Stevie.”

 

“Night.”

 

Patrick hung up the phone and headed home to his apartment. 

 

***

 

David noticed Stevie had stepped out to take a phone call while he was on stage. He finished out his song, “Make Me Feel” by Janelle Monae, not as strongly as he had hoped because he was worried that something was going on. He had been suspicious from the start that Stevie had some sort of ulterior motive for bringing him here. Did she have a secret significant other? Was she just going to ditch him again like she did that one time with that asshole Emir? Ugh, just thinking about him made David want to roll his eyes. He had not been good for Stevie at all and lately, he and Stevie had had some talks that made David think that maybe it wasn’t men she was after at all, but she hadn’t come right out and said as much to him, so he couldn’t be sure. 

 

Or was the secret-because he knew there was one, she may have distracted him earlier with stories that maybe brought him to tears, but he hadn’t been distracted enough to forget that fact-something more ominous? Was Patrick going to leave him? Had he begged Stevie to take him on a fun night out so he could pack a bag and escape in the night, never to be seen from again like the birthday clown? 

 

Stevie came back in, after David had finished singing and gotten himself another drink, and David stared her down. 

 

“What’s going on, David? Did something happen?”

 

“I don’t know, Stevie. You tell me. Because it seems to me you are keeping something from me, no, I hadn’t forgotten, and you just got a phone call at 11:30 at night and I want to know what’s going on.” 

 

“David, you’re right, I have been keeping something from you.”

 

“Aha! I knew it! Well, out with it!” David flapped his hands accusatorially, landing one on his hip and one dangling by his side.

 

Stevie bit her lip, breathed. David waited in anticipation. “I only like Carly Rae Jepsen’s new song. I don’t love it.”

 

David gasped loudly and dramatically, staring at her wide-eyed as though she’d just confessed to murdering someone. “We are in the middle of karaoke, and you  _ dare _ disgrace the name of Carly Rae Jepsen?”

 

Stevie rolled her eyes. “Can’t I just want to spend quality time with my best friend? Now, come on, the night is still young and I want to get wasted with you!”

 

***

 

Hours had passed, and David was very, very drunk. It was always fun drinking with Stevie, but she held her liquor way better than he did. 

 

He was feeling a lot better about things. Maybe he had just been paranoid. Maybe there wasn’t anything going on at all. But at this point in the night, he was way too drunk to think too deeply about it. 

 

Instead, his thoughts were on the girl currently staring at Stevie. Oh, he could have some fun with this.

 

He poked Stevie in the shoulder and said, a hint of teasing poking through his very slurred words, “That girl over there is staring at you.”

 

“David, you are very, very drunk right now, so clearly you’re seeing things.”

 

“Nuh-uh! I know when people are interested in someone and she has the hots for you!”

 

“Oh, you mean like how you knew that your first date with Patrick was a date?”

 

David, who had previously been hanging all over Stevie to keep himself from falling over, wandered off and Stevie followed after him, making sure he wasn’t going to hurt himself or others in the process. She was trying to chase after him, to stop him from saying whatever inevitable, humiliating thing he was going to say to that girl, but to her horror, it was too late. 

 

“Hi, it seems like you’re really into my friend over there! Her name is Stevie and she’s my best friend in the whole wide world and I love her and she’s great and you two should date.”

 

Stevie inserted herself before he could ramble any further than he already had.

 

“I’m sorry about this, he’s very drunk and clearly not thinking. We’ll just be going now.”

 

“Well, you may be right about your friend being really drunk-is he okay? Like does he need some water?-but he’s also right. I have been staring at you.” The girl blushed, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes, and looking down at the ground as if nervous to have been discovered.

 

Stevie had no idea how to feel in this moment. She felt a little dazed, a little confused, and a bit breathless. 

 

“I’m Nessa, by the way.”

 

Stevie had to take a moment to remember how to form words, but then she shook her head and regained some sense of what being a person felt like and she said,

 

“Hi, Nessa. I’m Stevie.”

 

Nessa smiled and it was the most breathtaking smile Stevie had ever seen on another person. She felt butterflies in her stomach that she knew definitely were not caused by any alcohol she had partaken of tonight.

 

“Not to be too forward or anything like that, but do you need help getting him home?”

 

“Yeah, that’d be great, actually. He’s certainly not gonna make it easy on me,” Stevie nervously giggled and then found herself cringing. Giggling? Really?

 

“I’ll call a cab for you both and you can settle your tab or whatever,” said Nessa and Stevie smiled gratefully. 

 

Once she had paid their tab, she put one arm around David and Nessa had put one of hers around his other. It was slow going, but they headed towards the door where the cab was waiting for them. 

 

They got him inside the cab, which was not an easy feat, and Stevie turned to Nessa.

 

“Thank you so much for helping me with him. He can be a nightmare.”

 

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” Nessa said. “He seems to really love you.”

 

“Can he not be both?” Stevie asked, teasingly, and Nessa smiled, again, that gorgeous smile.

 

“So, umm, anyway, I wanted to give you this. You should call me sometime,” said Nessa with a wink, slipping her a piece of paper which had her number on it.

 

Then, she leaned in, kissed her on the cheek, and walked away, leaving Stevie to get into the cab, thinking about what had just happened. 

 

“Did she give you her number?” David asked, his words very slurred and sleepy-sounding.

 

“I thought you passed out,” Stevie said.

 

“Look, I may have faked that I was passed out, but I only did it so you could get the girl, so, Stevie, I need to know, did you get the girl?”

 

“I, uh, I don’t know, David. This is all very confusing.”

 

“What’s so confusing about it? Do you like her?”

 

“...I think so, yeah.”

 

“Then you know what you need to do.”

 

David actually did pass out then and Stevie let him sleep, contemplating all that had occurred in such a short amount of time. 

 

When they arrived back at their hotel, she woke him up though. She was not dealing with dragging his passed out ass all the way up to their room. 

 

David moaned and groaned the entire time they headed to their hotel room. Stevie was about ready to lock him out of the room if he didn’t stop. He flopped down onto the bed on the side furthest from the door, not bothering to change or anything, while Stevie got ready for bed.

 

Stevie almost thought he was asleep until he murmured,

 

“Big night for you, huh? You liiiiiike her,”

 

“Shut up!” Stevie said, blushing. 

 

“No wonder things just never seemed to work out between you and the various men in your life. You were holding out for a woman. She’ll be good for you, you know?”

 

David trailed off and Stevie had been gathering the courage to say something to him for the first time ever.

 

“Can I tell you something?”

 

“Mhmm, yes,” David muttered sleepily.

 

“I think I might be a lesbian.”

 

“Well, I should hope so, Stevie, you got a girl’s number tonight. But in all seriousness, you know I love you no matter what, right?”

 

Stevie started to say something else, but was interrupted by David’s snores. She smiled to herself. He was right, it had been a big night for her. She’d gotten a girl’s number-a really cute girl for that matter-and she was going to text her!

 

[To Nessa] Sun, Jun 16, 2019 2:34am

_ Hey, sorry it’s so late, but I just wanted to let you know that we got in okay. Thanks again for your help tonight. _

 

Stevie was not expecting Nessa to reply tonight so she was startled when her phone went off right as she was settling into bed. She looked over at David, to make sure it hadn’t woken him up, but he was still deep asleep. She checked it with bated breath to see if it was Nessa. She was excited to see that it was. 

 

[From Nessa] Sun, Jun 16, 2019 2:37am

**Stevie!!! I’m so glad you texted! I was hoping you would, but I also would have understood if you didn’t haha. How’s your friend? Is he doing alright?**

 

[To Nessa] Sun, Jun 16, 2019 2:39am

_ He’s passed out in bed currently. He’s gonna have a wicked hangover later, but that’s what he gets for trying to keep up with me. I’m the queen of alcohol intake and no one can match me.  _

 

[From Nessa] Sun, Jun 16, 2019 2:41am

**That sounds like a challenge. Are you challenging me, Stevie?!**

 

[To Nessa] Sun, Jun 16, 2019 2:43am

_ Only if you think you can handle it, Nessa. _

 

The two made plans to see each other the next day and then Stevie, knowing she was going to fall asleep soon, said good night, and put her phone aside. She went to sleep with a huge smile on her face. 

 

The next morning, Stevie let David sleep in a bit before they had to check out and head back to Schitt’s Creek. 

 

Taking pity on him in his hungover state, she decided to forego any teasing comments she wanted to make about his appearance and instead just poured him a big cup of coffee, which he gratefully accepted. 

 

They loaded their stuff into the car and David had barely sat down before he was fast asleep. Stevie smiled at the sight. She was glad she had gotten the opportunity to have a fun adventure night with her best friend. She just hoped he wasn’t too mad at her when he found out why it had happened.

 

***

 

Stevie left David asleep in the passenger seat of her car and went to talk to Patrick.

 

“How are you doing this morning?” she asked him.

 

“I’m doing okay. Just nervous to see David. Is he doing okay?”

 

“He’s asleep right now. He had waaaaay too much to drink last night. He’s very hungover.” 

 

“Yeah, I was kind of surprised that he didn’t drunkenly text me at all.”

 

“I think his phone died.”

 

“Ah. Well, this conversation should be fun,” Patrick barked out a curt laugh, completely devoid of any humor. 

 

“It’ll all be okay, Patrick. I promise. Now that we’re here, can I get your help with him? He’ll probably be nicer to you if you’re the one who wakes him up.”

 

Patrick gently opened the passenger side door and shook David’s shoulder.

 

“Babe?”

 

David groaned. 

 

“David, honey, you’re home. Wanna wake up and come inside?”

 

David blinked his eyes open, wincing at the bright light of the sun. 

 

Patrick put his hands on his face and gently kissed him.

 

“Well, I can’t say I’m upset about being woken up to this,” David said happily. He took Patrick’s hands in his and did a double take.

 

“Patrick?! What happened to your hands?! Are you okay? Who did this to you?!”

 

“Come on inside, David, there’s something I need to tell you.”

 

David internally was freaking out, but somehow managed to hide it as he said,

 

“Patrick, may I just have a word with Stevie for a second?”

 

“Sure, I’ll get your stuff.”

 

Patrick grabbed David’s things and headed inside and David pounced.

 

“Did you know he was hurt? Is this why you took me away? What happened to him? If I don’t get some answers soon, I’m going to scream, and I have my mother’s DNA, you know the whole town would hear it.”

 

“David, just hear him out, okay? Don’t be too angry with him. That’s all I’ll say. I’ve gotta get going. You two really need to talk.”

 

“Don’t be too angry with him?! Why would I be angry with him? What did he do?! Stevie?!”

 

Stevie drove away, leaving David feeling very confused, very freaked-out, and entirely way too hungover for this.

 

He went inside and Patrick was sitting on the couch. He patted the cushion beside him, indicating he wanted David to sit next to him.

 

David sat down and tried, but failed to keep the tears that had been threatening to spill inside.

 

Patrick looked at him, his concern evident. 

 

“David, why are you crying, babe?”

 

“I’m just really freaked out. I knew something was going on and Stevie did everything in her power to convince me that nothing was, but I just had this feeling, and I was right. Something is going on, you’re hurt, and no one will answer me and I’m just not having a good day so far.”

 

“Don’t blame Stevie, David. It’s my fault. If you’re going to be upset with anyone, you should be upset with me.”

 

“Patrick, I don’t even know what to be upset over, you still haven’t told me!”

 

Patrick took a deep breath and said, “Sebastien was here.”

 

David shook his head, in that way he does when he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

 

“What? Here? As in this apartment?”

 

“No, here, as in Schitt’s Creek. I saw him last night and that’s why Stevie took you away, well, partially why.”

 

Patrick stood up then, and started pacing the room, looking down at the ground, and avoiding even the slightest potential for eye contact. 

 

“I did something stupid. Something I probably shouldn’t have done, but I was angry, David, so angry. He doesn’t get to treat you the way he did and act like he doesn’t give a shit.”

 

“Woah, woah, what did you do, Patrick?”

 

“I punched him. I didn’t intend to do that, I only wanted to talk to him, to tell him to leave, but he made me mad, and so I punched him.”

 

“So, what? You think I can’t handle the sight of my ex? You think me so weak, so pathetic that I need to be shipped off out of town with my best friend while my fiance fights my battles for me?!”

 

At this point, David stood too, looking directly at Patrick, and fuming. 

 

Patrick had never seen David look this angry before. 

 

“David, of course not! I don’t think you’re weak or pathetic. I just didn’t want you to have to see him if that was going to hurt you. He’s already brought you so much pain and so-,”

 

“This type of thing isn’t your decision to make, Patrick. And I’m hurt that you did it.”

 

Patrick nodded, looking down at the ground.

 

“I’m going to go sleep. Don’t follow me. I need to think about this.”

 

Patrick sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He didn’t know what to do. He and David had fought before, of course, but it had never been like this. Was David going to call off the wedding? Was he going to leave him? 

 

He wished he could say he’d go back in time and take it all back, but he wouldn’t. Sebastien had it coming to him and if this is the way their relationship ends, then he guessed he just had to make peace with his decisions. 

 

His phone rang just then, pulling him from his thoughts. It was Stevie.

 

“Hey, did it go okay?”

 

“No, he’s angry, Stevie. Angrier than I’ve ever seen him.”

 

“He’ll get over it.”

 

“I’m not so sure, Stevie. He told me he had to ‘think about this’. What if he’s realizing he doesn’t want to marry me anymore?”

 

“If he comes to that realization, he’s an idiot.”

 

“Stevie, don’t say that. He has every right to be angry with me. I shouldn’t have gone behind his back. He’s right.”

 

“Patrick, it’ll all be okay. I know it will. You know David. You just have to give him time with things. Hey, I’m sorry to do this, but I have to cut this short. I’m actually getting another call. I promise it’ll all work out.”

 

Patrick hung up the phone and sat, staring at a wall for a little while, before he decided, no, he wasn’t going to just sit and wallow. He was going to go on a hike.

 

He got a glass of water, pain medication, and the note he had written for David telling him where he was, and peeked his head in at David. Seeing that he was deeply asleep, Patrick snuck in and put those things on the bedside table, and then left the apartment, tennis shoes on and music in tow. 

 

***

 

He was headed back home when his phone started ringing. He pulled over and looked at it. It was David.

 

His hand shook a little as he answered it, not knowing what David was going to say.

 

“Thank you for the water and the pain meds.”

 

“Of course.”

 

There was silence between them and Patrick almost wondered if he had lost connection for a second before David said,

 

“Are you coming home soon? I want to talk to you.”

 

“Yes, I’m on my way home right now. Can I bring you anything?”

 

“Coffee, please. And a scone. And a big sign telling me to never drink that much ever again.”

 

Patrick laughed and said,

 

“I’ll be home soon.”

 

***

 

He walked in the door and saw David sitting on the couch. He handed him the coffee and the scone and David set both of those things down on the coffee table. Patrick swallowed. 

 

David stood up and had a very serious look on his face.

 

This is it, Patrick thought. This is how it ends.

 

David walked up to him and placed his hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes.

 

Patrick wanted to look away, uncomfortable, but he stuck it out. If David was going to break up with him, at least he had the decency to look him in the eye to do it. 

 

David started talking, softly, 

 

“I need you to listen to what I’m about to say.”

 

Patrick nodded and he continued,

 

“Yes, my past life was awful. Yes, Sebastien is a monster, but you walked into my life and made everything okay for me. I don’t want you worrying about my past because I don’t anymore. I have you and you are more important to me than anything anyone ever did to me, okay?” 

 

“I’m so sorry, David.”

 

“I know. I’m sorry too. I’ve had a lot of time in my life to process the things that have happened to me, the people that have hurt me. I forget sometimes that you have not. It’s still fairly new to you and so I was harsh on you before.”

 

“So, are we okay?”

 

“We are very okay, future husband,” said David as he pulled Patrick in for a kiss. 

 

***

 

They spent the rest of the day lazily lounging around. Patrick had dozed off, but was awoken abruptly by David gasping, sitting up, and reaching for his phone. 

 

“David, what are you doing?”

 

“I think I just remembered something that happened last night and so I have to call Stevie to confirm if it’s true or not.” 

 

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” asked Stevie in a monotone.

 

“Well, hello, to you too, best friend. I need you to answer me one thing and then I’ll leave you alone.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Did I hit on a girl for you last night?”

 

“What? Why would you ask that?”

 

“I keep getting little snippets of last night in my head and I keep remembering this girl like helping us to the cab or something? I don’t know, I was pretty out of it.”

 

“Can we talk about this later? I’m a little busy right now, David.”

 

“Okay, okay, yeah, sure. Wanna come by later?”

 

“Yeah, later. Bye.”

 

Stevie hung up the phone and David started at it. 

 

“That was...weird.”

 

“What was weird, babe?”

 

“She was in  _ such _ a hurry to hang up the phone and she was very short with me.”

 

“Isn’t she always short with you, David? Isn’t that kind of how your friendship goes?”

 

“Well, yeah, but that’s always playful, Patrick. She seemed genuinely annoyed. Like I was keeping her from something.” David sat, thinking, and then blurted out, “Or someone! Patrick, I think she was with the girl!”

 

“The girl that you’re not even sure exists?”

 

“Okay, I’m  _ pretty  _ sure she exists, Patrick.”

 

Patrick just shook his head and kissed David’s forehead. “Why don’t we just wait until she comes over before we start any conspiracy theories, alright?”

 

David rolled his eyes, but said, “Fine, we’ll wait.”

 

***

 

Stevie showed up at their apartment, hours later, drunk. Patrick invited her in and the three of them sat on the couch, all scrunched up together. 

 

“How is your body not hating you currently?” David asked her, his jealousy showing through. “Mine is still punishing me and probably will be for a while.” 

 

“It’s in my blood. Try not to be so obviously jealous next time, David.”

 

“Where were you anyway? Drinking by yourself? That’s so sad.”

 

“I wasn’t by myself, asshole, I was with Nessa.”

 

“Who’s Nessa?” asked Patrick. 

 

“Nessa is the girl we met last night. She gave me her number and today we hung out.”

 

“Aha! So there was a girl! See, Patrick?! I told you she was real!”

 

“You don’t remember anything about last night, do you, David?”

 

“Hmm, let’s see. I remember karaoke, I remember you sneaking out for your secret phone call which I now know was Patrick, and I remember lots of drinking, and that a girl entered the equation somehow, but I’m fuzzy on the details.” 

 

"Well, I told you this last night, but I think I'm a lesbian." She smirked, trying hard to keep the full-blown grin that kept threatening to overtake her smirk off her face, but failing miserably. "Actually, I'm definitely a lesbian."

 

David's mouth dropped open and Patrick just looked confused. David squealed, "I  _ knew  _ it!!! I  _ knew  _ you were sleeping with her earlier!!!"

 

"Oh you  _ did _ not! You barely remembered she existed!"

 

"But I did remember! Ask Patrick! Patrick, didn't I say she existed?"

 

Patrick held up his hands in protest. "Leave me out of this." He smiled and then said, "But Stevie's totally right, you said you were PRETTY sure she existed."

 

"Figures you were too drunk to remember my important news, I get it. It's totally fine," said Stevie, sarcastically, all the while smiling so wide she felt like her cheeks were going to fall off. 

 

"Well, if SOMEBODY hadn't insisted on making me feel bad for having a lower tolerance, I wouldn't have gotten that wasted!"

 

"David, you never should actually try to compete with me. We've been over this. It's a bad idea."

 

"Yes, I'm well aware of that now, thank you!"

 

"Anyway, Stevie," Patrick interrupted, before their banter could continue any further. "I'm so happy for you! This is great news!"

 

"Thank you, Patrick! It means so much that somebody actually appreciates my news!"

 

Patrick stood up to give her a hug and said, "Welcome to the club!"

 

Stevie laughed and then said, "I really hope I don't screw this up. I really, really like her."

 

They talked a bit more, but then it was getting late, and everyone was tired. They offered their couch to Stevie and she gratefully accepted.

 

~a couple weeks later~

 

Patrick was working on the books at the counter in Rose Apothecary. David had just stepped out to get them some lunch. The bell dinged, signaling someone was entering the store. 

 

Patrick looked up and saw Stevie and an unfamiliar girl next to her. Stevie was wearing a sly grin which wasn’t necessarily a good sign. She was also holding a magazine that was opened to a certain page. The girl with her was holding a sharpie.

 

“Go on, Nessa, ask him.”

 

“Stevie, do I have to do this?”

 

“Nessie, you can’t bail on me now! You promised me you’d help me with this!”

 

Nessa-ah so this was Nessa-sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

 

“Excuse me, sir, can I please get your autograph?”

 

Patrick was confused. What the fuck was happening?

 

“Stevie, what is this? What’s going on?”

 

“Well, Patrick, you’re a celebrity now, so we just came to get your autograph.”

 

“I, uh, wasn’t aware I was a celebrity now. What exactly is it that I’ve done that has given me this new celebrity status?”

 

Stevie handed over the magazine she had been clutching onto and pointed to a highlighted section.

 

_ Raine spoke recently on his visit to a small town. “You know, small towns are really not for me. I visited one recently and it did not go well at all. There are some downright lunatics in small towns. I was attacked when I was there, for no apparent reason, and so I had to leave immediately.” _

 

“That was you! You’re the lunatic!” Stevie screamed in delight. 

 

“He’s a liar! It wasn’t for no apparent reason! I had a reason!”

 

David walked in just then with their lunches looking taken aback at the sight of Stevie and Nessa.

 

“Stevie, Stevie’s friend, to what do we owe the pleasure?” 

 

“We were just coming to get an autograph from your celebrity fiance,” said Stevie. “Also, don’t you remember Nessa? She helped get your sorry ass into a cab once.”

 

David raised his eyebrows at this and said,

 

“Ohhhh yes, I remember Nessa. It’s  _ very _ nice to see you again, Nessa.”

 

“It’s good to see you when you’re sober, David. I was worried for you that night.”

 

“Oh, don’t worry, Nessa, I was actually a lot more alert than I made it seem. Somebody had to get you two together. You’re welcome for your girlfriend, by the way, Stevie.”

 

Stevie stuck her tongue out at David and then David said,

 

“Wait, a second, I got so distracted meeting your girlfriend, I almost missed the part where you said my fiance is a celebrity! Whatever do you mean by that?

 

Stevie smirked and grabbed the magazine out of Patrick’s hand, who had still been clutching onto it. “We need your help to convince him to sign it, David.”

 

“I’m not going to sign that,” Patrick insisted.

 

David came up beside him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. He kissed him on the side of the head and said,

 

“It’s okay, babe. If you want to sign it, you can. We can get it framed for our new house. Just nothing too corporate, okay?” 

 

David went into the back room to grab some inventory that needed to be put away and Patrick smiled. This, more than anything, was an indication that everything was completely okay between them. 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at @steviebuddisalesbian on tumblr!


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